


Mother's Day Surprise

by Liz_87



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24556246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz_87/pseuds/Liz_87
Summary: Charlie helps Peter and Jake give their mum a treat. Series 16.
Relationships: Lisa "Duffy" Duffin/Charlie Fairhead
Kudos: 3





	Mother's Day Surprise

Duffy rolled over in bed and sleepily opened her eyes. No, that couldn't be right! She closed her eyes and then reopened them, wider this time. The clock on her bedside table really did say 9.26am. As she sat up and stretched she heard movement in the hallway outside her bedroom.

"Peter, is that you?" She called out.

The pre-teen poked his head around the door. "Hi mum, yeh I was sent to see if you were awake yet."

She tried her best to stay calm in front of her eldest but the panic was gnawing away at her insides. "Where are your brothers? Is Paul OK? I didn't hear him crying when he woke up."

"Paul's fine, he's having his bottle downstairs. Jake's eating cereal and watching cartoons." Suddenly looking sheepish he continued quietly. "I, um, turned Paul's monitor off so you wouldn't hear him crying."

Shocked and angry, Duffy leapt from the bed and rushed to grab her dressing gown. "You did what?!" She shouted. "And now you've left them by themselves downstairs? Peter!"

Attempting to block his mother's path to the door Peter tried to explain. "Mum! I just wanted you to have a nice lie in. You do so much that I thought you deserved it." He groaned as she darted around him into the upstairs hallway. "They're not on their own, uncle Charlie is here."

Duffy froze, her foot on the top step. Catching sight of her reflection in the window she sighed. She turned and walked back towards her son. "Did you call him?" Peter nodded. "He's just finished a night shift, Peter, that wasn't very fair."

"I rang him the other day, he didn't say anything about a night shift when I asked if he could help us." Peter shrugged.

Duffy rolled her eyes and shook her head, a wry chuckle escaping her lips. Of course Charlie wouldn't have mentioned it. That man was far too nice for his own good sometimes! As she wandered back into her room and sat down on the bed another thought entered her mind.

"You boys better not be making a total mess of my kitchen!" She remarked. 

The words had no sooner left her mouth when a loud alarm began ringing from downstairs.

"Oh for the love of..!" Duffy muttered as she began to rise from the bed once more.

Peter moved to block the doorway, anxiously looking over his shoulder. "Erm, I'm sure it's nothing mum. You relax in bed and I'll go sort it out yeh?" He suggested before dashing out the room and back downstairs.

After giving her son a couple of minutes to arrive in the kitchen, Duffy walked over to the door and listened for a few moments. Hearing nothing immediately calamitous she softly closed the door and wandered over to her dresser. Picking up her hairbrush, she worked it through her strawberry blonde hair til she felt it looked somewhat more presentable. She then grabbed a baby wipe and ran it over her face before applying some lip balm and mascara. She looked down at her pajamas and shook her head. Down one shoulder and back was a stain from where Paul had been sick on her during the night. She'd been too tired to bother changing, preferring the idea of just going back to sleep. It wasn't like there was normally anyone around to notice these things anyway. She grabbed a fresh set from the drawer and quickly changed into them, throwing the dirty clothes into the laundry basket.

Finally happy with her appearance, Duffy quietly reopened her bedroom door to its previous position and settled herself into bed, attempting to make it look like she'd been there the entire time. Just in the nick of time too as she'd barely finished rearranging the covers when she heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairs accompanied by the slight rattling of crockery.

Duffy looked up as her bedroom door was pushed open revealing her eldest two sons. Peter was carrying a tray filled with food, a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice. Jake was half obscured by the huge bunch of flowers he was attempting to juggle in addition to the sparkly gift bag he was also carrying.

Peter looked briefly perplexed as he placed the tray down on his mother's lap before leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Jake unceremoniously dumped the flowers down next to her.

"Uncle Charlie told me to give you those. He said you like flowers and pancakes."

"Jake..!" Peter complained at his brother. "That was supposed to be a secret!" He turned back to his mum. "I made the muffins while you were at work yesterday. I hope you like them."

Duffy smiled and tried the muffin first. She was pleased to discover that it was delicious. "These are great Peter. You'll have to make some more and I'll take them into work with me. Everyone will be so impressed."

She suddenly felt something prod her in the arm. Turning she saw that Jake had poked her with a card. "I made this for you!" He declared proudly. She took the card from him and looked at it. She ruffled his hair and kissed his cheek causing Jake to pull a face and wipe the back of his hand down his cheek.

Duffy continued to eat her breakfast as the boys filled her in on what they'd been up to the previous day with their gran while she'd been at work.

After finishing the final mouthful, Duffy sat back and let out a slow breath. "Wow, that was delicious boys! I'm stuffed!" She moved the tray from her lap onto the bed beside her. "Right you two, I'm just gunna get changed and then I'll head downstairs."

Peter and Jake picked up the breakfast items and headed downstairs, leaving their mother to get dressed in peace. They dumped the dirty cutlery and plates on the kitchen worktop and went off in search of Charlie and Paul. They eventually found the two of them sat on the lounge floor playing.

Charlie looked up as he heard the boys enter the room. "Did your mum like her surprise breakfast?"

"Yeh she loved it. She's just getting dressed and then she'll be downstairs." Peter replied.

Charlie pushed himself up from the carpet. "I best crack on with cleaning the kitchen and doing the washing up then!" 

Duffy arrived downstairs several minutes later to the sounds of clattering and muttering coming from the kitchen. She quickly poked her head around the lounge door to check the boys were OK. They were engrossed in a video game so didn't even acknowledge her existence. Shaking her head and chuckling softly so continued to the kitchen. 

She lent against the doorframe as she surveyed the scene in front of her. As she had anticipated a series of food wrappers and half used ingredients were scattered across the surfaces. What she hadn't expected, however, was the sight of Charlie, sleeves rolled up, marigolds on, stood at the sink attempting to wash up whilst also entertaining Paul in his bouncer chair beside him. She was surprised by how willing her youngest son was to sit in the chair - he usually screamed the house down whenever she tried. She then spotted the toy in front of him, all bright colours, flashing lights and loud noises. 

"Did you buy him that?" She asked. 

Charlie jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. "Um, yeh..." He replied shyly. "He seems to like it." He shrugged. "I've also given him a bottle, changed his nappy and gotten him dressed." 

Duffy smiled her thanks as she wandered over to give her son a kiss. She noticed a card had been placed next to his chair along with a small box of chocolates. 

"Oh yeh, Paul made that for you. I must say he's got impressively neat handwriting for a baby!" Charlie joked. 

Duffy laughed as she picked up the card, immediately recognising her mother's handwriting. She welled up as she looked at the front of the card - a painting of some flowers that her mum had helped Paul do with his handprints. She looked up at Charlie as she swiped the tears from her eyes. "Don't you dare laugh at me!" 

Charlie looked hurt by the accusation. "I'd never do that." He murmured.

The awkwardness of the moment was briefly broken by Jake coming bounding into the room demanding a drink. He stopped in the middle of the room by his mother and sniffed the air. "What's that funny smell?"

"I didn't burn anything I swear!" Charlie blurted out. "A couple of things might have gotten slightly singed but that's all."

Duffy rolled her eyes and laughed as she made Jake a drink and handed it to him.

"Thanks mum. No, it smells like flowers and sweets. It's weird."

"Oh! Um... That'll be my perfume." Duffy mumbled awkwardly, a deep blush colouring her cheeks.

Jake shrugged and left to go rejoin Peter who was shouting at him to hurry up so they could continue playing.

Duffy cleared her throat and attempted to change the subject. "I'm guessing you also bought that video game too?"

"I'm told it's a very popular game" He shrugged as he continued the washing up.

"Yes and it's also really expensive! You shouldn't spoil them so much!" She tried to sound stern but failed as a smile broke through.

"They're good boys, I enjoy spoiling them." He replied. 'Just like I enjoy spoiling you.' He thought but didn't say out loud.

Duffy took Paul out of his chair and carried him through to the lounge to watch her other sons play their game. Several minutes later Charlie joined them.

"Right, that's the kitchen all cleaned up so I'll get out your way. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you at work later in the week." He raised his voice slightly so Peter and Jake would hear him. "Boys, you be good for your mum OK?"

Duffy accompanied Charlie to the door. "Thank you for all this, it was very sweet of you to help them." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, blushing when she realised her lipstick had left a mark. Charlie briefly closed his eyes as Duffy gently wiped it away with her thumb. They smiled at each other awkwardly until Charlie pulled her into a loose hug, careful not to squash Paul who was sat on her hip. "I had fun this morning, though its scaring me just how grown up Peter is getting!" He chuckled.

Though he tried to hide it Duffy spotted the brief look of sadness that passed across Charlie's eyes. He was clearly missing Louis now the boy lived full time in Canada. She decided it was best not to draw attention to that though. "Yeh, you and me both! Can you believe he'll be a teenager soon?"

They dissolved into giggles as they both pulled disgusted, freaked out faces at the same time.

Regaining his composure Charlie spoke once more. "And on that cheery note... I'm gunna head home for some kip. Take care, I'll see you soon." They shared a final brief kiss before he headed out to his car. 

Duffy closed the door after waving him off, a smile on her lips. Trust Charlie to always know just how to cheer her up.


End file.
